


The Consequences of Falling

by Leela



Series: Breaking the Mould [2]
Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-16
Updated: 2010-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-08 01:15:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/71199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leela/pseuds/Leela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An accident prevents Charlie from going back to England for a two week holiday. Lucius doesn't like waiting, and Molly wants to make sure that her son gets the best care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Consequences of Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Minxie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minxie/gifts).



> **Betas**: Flic and batdina  
> **A/N**: This one's for Minxie, who requested Lucius/Charlie as her holiday gift. Thank you for everything.

Charlie half-sat, half-lay in the one and only chair in his room, hands clenched on the arms, left leg extended and resting on a hassock. His leg fucking throbbed, even after the potions and healing spells. If the apprentice dragon keeper hadn't been in even worse shape, he would have gladly strangled the idiot. And then Ennervated him so he could do it all over again. And again.

Who in their right mind would fly between a keeper and a dragon when the keeper was overseeing an egg hatching? Ardennes better stop wringing his hands over the boy's political connections and send the obnoxious little shit packing. If he was still around when Charlie was back on two feet, then Charlie was gone. He was too fucking old to work for someone who didn't have the bollocks to stand up and take care of his people.

Especially since the whole mess had just cost Charlie his two weeks of leave. He liked his body intact, thank you very much. And given the way dragon fire burns reacted to magical travel, there was no guarantee he would arrive home in one piece. His mum was going to have conniptions, and he didn't even want to know how Lucius would react. At least he wouldn't be there when the Portkey arrived.

Twirling the silver medallion by its cord of twisted green silk, Charlie smiled. He still couldn't believe that Lucius had apologised for sending a substandard Portkey for Charlie's trip back to England. Expectations were interesting beasts, almost as interesting as dragons.

The charm dinged its one minute warning as he bent down and wrapped the Portkey around a letter and a leaf turned autumn crisp and reddish-gold -- a leaf that had fallen from the tree they'd fucked under the last time Lucius had visited.

After all three items had spun around and disappeared from the side table, Charlie cast another _Incendio_ at the fire. With a sigh of appreciation for the velvet warmth of the dressing gown that Lucius had insisted on buying him to replace Charlie's tattered flannel one, he picked up the latest treatise on dragon anatomy and had another go at reading it.

o0o

 

"What the hell were you thinking, Charlie Weasley? For that matter, were you even thinking at all?" Lucius started yelling before the Portkey had even deposited him on the floor. "Haven't you heard of shield spells? I understand they've even developed some specifically for dragon fire. You stupid, ridiculously brave--" he knelt in front of Charlie, "--you!"

"It's just a burn with bad timing." Charlie shrugged, tossing his book to one side and holding on to Lucius as tightly as he was being held. He could fall in love with this man, he thought -- and not for the first time. But then Lucius' cane fell sideways and knocked into the hassock, and the fucking leg was doing worse than throbbing, and Charlie made a noise that really wasn't a whimper.

"I didn't _touch_ you."

Oblivious arsehole. Maybe killing him -- just for a little while -- wasn't a completely terrible idea. Charlie bit back the words and shook his head. "It's a dragon fire burn. They always hurt worse than the strongest pain potion can manage."

"And you've become a healer, have you?"

"No, but I've been burnt more than once as you well know. You've played with the scars." Charlie tried distracting Lucius with a kiss.

Leaning back, Lucius tapped Charlie's lips with a finger. "Don't bother. I was manipulating people before you were even born."

Charlie snorted with laughter. "Coals to Newcastle, huh?"

A pale eyebrow arched, proof that he'd once again managed to confuse Lucius.

"Never mind, it's just another one of my Dad's Muggle sayings. We don't understand them half the time."

Charlie settled back into his chair and enjoyed Lucius' attentions. The man could be so bloody supercilious in public that it was gratifying to know that he trusted Charlie enough to be himself in private. Crouching on the floor with concern written all over his face, Lucius seemed supremely undisturbed that he lacked his usual layers of cloak and robes, that one of his shirt tails was untucked and hanging below his jumper, and that his hair was in need of a good comb.

o0o

 

Half an hour or so later, with the assistance of Ieremi, who had the unfortunate luck to drop by to renew the healing spells and change the dressing on Charlie's burn, Lucius was convinced that the burn was being properly treated by a healer with acceptable credentials. And they'd made a long-distance fire call to Draco to assure him that he didn't have to remain on standby, ready to send Burn Specialist Healer Cardinale to Romania on a minute's notice.

"Are you quite done now?" Charlie growled as Ieremi closed the door behind him. "Or do you absolutely _have to do_ another bloody annoying thing designed to drive me up the wall and back down the other side?"

"Well, pardon me for caring," Lucius sneered and started to get up.

"Ah, fuck, Lucius. Don't," Charlie said and placed his hand on the heavy silk that covered Lucius' arm. "I'm glad you're here, all right? I'm just in a fucking nasty mood."

"I never would have guessed."

"I'm not even going to justify that with a response."

Lucius hummed and transfigured his cloak into a plush rug and one of his gloves into a cushion, settling himself more comfortably between Charlie's legs.

"We could take this to the bed," Charlie suggested, "Or turn this chair into something big enough for both of us."

"I believe this is one of those times when silence, not discretion, is the better part." Lucius opened Charlie's dressing gown and wrapped his hand around Charlie's cock.

Charlie groaned, hooking his right leg over the arm of his chair to give Lucius better access.

And then Charlie's cock was sucked into that sinfully wicked mouth, and his balls were rolled and kneaded and... white hot pain slammed up his spine from his leg.

"Fuck," he all but screamed as he shoved Lucius away, brought his right leg back down and bent over, hands spread protectively above his calf. Eventually, when the agony subsided enough, he managed to grit out, "Leg... moved."

"The healer didn't immobilise it?" Lucius' tone made it clear exactly what he thought of that.

Closing his eyes, Charlie forced himself to sit upright. When the renewed agony from that move had died back down to a throb, he opened his eyes and admitted, "Asked him not to. It's annoying."

"Utterly foolish," Lucius snarled. "Idiotically, stubborn, thoughtless, self-indulgent--"

"All right. All right. I get it."

"--Gryffindor," Lucius finally finished.

"That would be me, yeah." Charlie couldn't help smiling. "And however much it drives you to distraction, you love it."

When Lucius merely harrumphed without denying the accusation, Charlie's smile widened into a grin. "Now," he said, "how's about you get me another pain potion from the counter? Then I'll let you immobilise it for a bit."

"You will, will you?"

"Well, it seems there's something more than aggravation in it for me, doesn't it?"

"I do believe I'm rubbing off on you. How delightful."

"Rubbing off. Now _that_ is a delightful idea." Charlie caught the phial Lucius tossed at him, popped the seal, and drank it down.

"It certainly would be if you were capable of it." Lucius dropped gracefully to his knees, placed a jar on the side table, and then flicked his wand. "_Immobilis Crus_."

Charlie dropped the phial, barely aware of the rattle it made against the wood floor, as he clenched the arms of his chair. The leaden sensation sank into his leg. Weighing it down at the same time as it deadened the nerves in the limb. He hated that feeling, hated knowing that he couldn't stand up or walk without help.

"Trust me," Lucius said, sliding a warm hand around the nape of Charlie's neck and bringing their foreheads together. "I will lift the spell after we are finished here."

A nod was the best Charlie could manage. He unpeeled his fingers from the chair arms, lay back, and hooked his right leg out of the way again.

Lucius scooped lubricant from the jar and slicked his hand. Sliding it around the base of Charlie's cock once again, Lucius ran his tongue along the rim of the foreskin then dipped it into the slit. A teasing nip with his teeth and Lucius started to move his hand. Up, down, squeezing, twisting just enough.

"Oh, yeah," Charlie groaned. His hips jerked when Lucius flatted his tongue along the thick vein and sucked. Those pale cheeks hollowed. The pale blond hair fell forward, covering Charlie's groin, mixing with the wiry red hair that surrounded his cock and balls. Then Lucius' hand slid behind his balls, pressed on his perineum, and Charlie was wrapping Lucius' hair around his fingers. So damn good. That lovely, lovely pressure built in his pelvis. He threw his head back. Felt his balls draw up and--

"_Petrificus Totalus_".

\--Lucius froze. Mid-suck. Cheeks hollowed.

"Fucking hell," Charlie swore. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, I'm going to _slaughter_ you."

"Did Malfoy hurt you?" Ginny's voice came from just over Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie struggled to get a grip on his temper. Feeding her to the Hungarian Horntail was not a good idea. He was pretty sure about that. Because he'd have to face Mum afterwards and he'd really rather not have to do that. Then again, if he ever found out which prat had brought her upstairs and blithely let her into his rooms, he was going to get them on dung shovelling duty for the next fifty years or so. She'd never have found her way from the Floo room without someone helping.

"Charlie?" The near-panic in Ginny's tone finally pierced his internal ranting. "Please tell me. Are you all right?"

He took a deep breath, trying to move beyond the image of Lucius' jaws snapping shut as soon as he was released. "I'm fine. All things considered. Though, I would have been a whole lot better if you hadn't interrupted."

"Oh my god! He... you..." Ginny had come around to the side. One hand held her wand, rigid and pointing at Lucius. The other was clapped over her mouth.

"Put your wand _down_."

"How could you? With _him_." She spat out the last word. Then she flicked her wand. _Finite..._

"Stop!"

But she ignored him. "_...Incantatem_."

For one bone-chilling moment, all Charlie could feel was the shudder that ran through Lucius. Then, Lucius' jaw muscles flexed and Charlie's now flaccid cock slipped free.

Rearing back onto his heels, Lucius rose smoothly to his feet and glared down his nose at Ginny. His wand dangled loosely from one hand, but he didn't say anything. And that worried Charlie more than any outburst would have done.

Unhooking his stiffened right leg from the chair, Charlie stretched as he tied his dressing gown firmly around his waist. Warily, he retrieved his wand and twisted so he could see both of them. He could handle dragons in full mating frenzy. Surely, he could manage Lucius and Ginny.

Eyes narrowed, Lucius purred, "Miss Weasley. It seems your upbringing was even more slipshod than I had imagined. Someone should have taught you to look before casting."

Ginny straightened up, still keeping Charlie and his chair between her and Lucius. Her wand only trembled a little.

"You can't kill her."

"That is... unfortunate." A smirk hovered around Lucius' lips and he raised an eyebrow. "However, I'm certain I can come up with something suitable."

Charlie reached out. The muscles in Lucius' forearm were rigid with tension, making it clear how absolutely the man was controlling himself. Biting back his sigh of relief, Charlie said, "I don't think so. As her brother, that privilege is mine. Trust me. I've had plenty of practice."

"Perhaps," Lucius covered Charlie's hand with his own briefly and then took a step towards Ginny.

Scowling, she raised her wand. "Back off or I'll hex you. Don't think that I won't."

"Oh dear, you are very frightening, aren't you?" Lucius crossed his arms over his chest, leaving his wand clearly visible, and smiled. "I've heard that your Bat Bogey Hexes are an absolute marvel. Hardly fatal, mind you, or even particularly debilitating, but decidedly awkward for your poor victims."

Laughing at them was a bad idea, Charlie told himself. A truly, terribly horrible idea, but, Merlin, he really wanted to.

However, Lucius began stroking his chin with his free hand, and Charlie recognised that move. He swished his own wand and said, "_Expelliarmus_." Twice. Followed by "_Accio Lucius' cane_," because he was sure Lucius kept a spare inside it. He caught the wands and the cane with his left hand and settled them across his knees. Both of them were scowling at him.

A couple of waves of his own wand brought his wooden desk chair and second arm chair over to settle on either side of him. "Sit down, both of you."

Lucius took the armchair, sliding it closer to Charlie's own chair. Ginny primly wrapped her green trainee healer's robes around her legs and perched on the desk chair.

Before Charlie could open his mouth to say anything, Ginny started up. "He tried to _kill_ me, Charlie. Back when I was a first year. How could you take up with someone who'd want to kill your own sister?"

"Believe me, if I'd had the slightest idea what that book contained, I would have sealed away it in a room at the Manor with the strongest wards. I certainly would have ensured that no one could remove it from my library," Lucius said, his tone worryingly even. "I'm sure my punishment for doing so would have pleased even your bloodthirsty nature."

"You expect me to feel sorry for you?"

"Hardly," Lucius sneered. "However, I will gladly give you a personal demonstration of the effects of the Cruciatus and the Scalprum curses, if that would ease your mind."

"Scalprum?" Charlie swallowed down the queasy feeling that word gave him. "Oh, bugger, that's where you got those scars."

"You should have gone to Azkaban."

Lucius crossed his legs, watching Ginny intently. "Imagine having your stomach sliced open by a thin blade of magic." When she flinched, he continued, "Now multiply that at least tenfold and repeat several times over various parts of your body; while someone else holds you under Cruciatus."

Ginny's already pale face whitened further.

"Tell me, Miss Weasley, is your honour satisfied? Or do you feel obliged to duel?"

"I won't be satisfied until someone actually brings you to justice for what you've done," she said, twisting a lock of her hair around her fingers. A familiar nervous gesture, but one that Charlie hadn't seen her make for at least a couple of years.

Shifting in his chair, he tried without success to come up with something to say that would break the awkward, painful silence.

After a long pause, Lucius drawled, "If you have proof of my culpability in this or any other matter that has yet to be adjudicated, by all means present it to the Aurors."

"_Enough_!" The word flew out of Charlie's mouth before he'd even finished thinking it. When their heads swivelled towards him -- Ginny with her face set in hard lines, and Lucius looking sceptical -- he would have gladly strangled them both. "Ginny, you don't have a single scrap of proof, and you know it."

Ginny opened her mouth to object, and he raised his hand. She closed her mouth with an audible clack of enamel.

"Do you think for one instant that I didn't know what I was doing...?"

Lucius snorted.

Charlie glared at him. "Don't."

"As you wish," Lucius said, the gentleness in his eyes contradicting the airy pomposity of his tone. "Although, if you plan to air our personal business, the least you could do is allow me to fortify myself with a drink or twenty."

"You know where it is," Charlie said.

A sharp nod, and then Lucius went to the sideboard and brought back three heavy-bottomed glasses filled with whisky. Charlie found comfort and strength in the warmth of Lucius' fingers as they slid past his.

When Lucius offered a glass to Ginny, she stood up. Her fists were clenched and her nostrils were flared. "I think I've had enough."

Charlie said, "Gin..."

"Don't you _Gin_ me." She shoved her chair back, legs scraping the wooden floor. "I'll just tell Mum that you're happy with the care," she sneered at Lucius, "you're getting and you didn't need my help, shall I? After all, I'm only a trainee healer, and I'm sure you've got the real thing around here somewhere."

"Yeah, you do that. Just--" Charlie sighed, blinking against the wave of exhaustion that swamped him all of a sudden "--give her and Dad my love, all right? And tell her I'll see her next month."

This time, the sound of Ginny's heels was loud and sharp as she stomped away.

Twisting his head to watch her, Charlie waited until she reached the door and then said, "Ginny?"

She spun on her heel. "What?"

"You might need this." He tossed her wand towards her in a lazy arc.

Grabbing it out of the air, Ginny's face contorted with disgust. "If you don't tell the family about _him_ the first night you're home, I'll do it for you."

o0o

 

After the echo from the slamming door faded away, Lucius lifted the glass that he'd offered to Ginny in a mock-toast and quaffed the contents in one long swallow. "Well, that went better than I expected."

"You..." Charlie shook his head, unable to think of a thing to say.

"Surely you didn't believe your family would welcome me with open arms?" Lucius placed the empty glass on the coffee table and sat back down in his chair. "That privilege is reserved for naïve young heroes."

"Actually, I did my best not to think about it at all. I love my family, don't get me wrong, but most of them are boring as hell. Always yammering on about kids and careers. Last time I was there, the hot topic around the dinner table was how long the wives should stay home after having kids. Even George's fallen into that trap, now that Fred's not around to kick him in the arse. And, after living here all these years..." Charlie sipped his whisky while he thought how best to put it. "I don't really fit in. They don't even try to understand me. Going home for a visit was a bloody nightmare, one I avoided as much as possible, until I met you."

He took another drink, relishing the burn in his throat and the grave patience with which Lucius waited for him to continue. "Harry's the only one who's got half a chance of turning out all right. And that's only if he can stay out of my sister's clutches. Given half a chance, she'll drag him down into a tedious, soul-destroying happy-ever-after."

Lucius smirked. "I don't believe you have to worry about Potter. If I'm right, and I always am, he's got some news of his own that will go down about as well as yours."

"About bloody time he did something for himself. I don't suppose you're going to give me a hint."

"I value my skin far too highly for that."

"That certainly narrows the field. I can count on one hand the number of people who could possibly worry you, and I'd have fingers left over."

"Yes, well, far be it for me to spoil Harry's surprise. Besides," Lucius purred, standing up and holding out a hand to Charlie. "I believe it is time we took this to bed where we can be much more comfortable."

Charlie flicked his wand and locked the door, setting additional wards to ensure no one interrupted them until they were ready for company. Putting their wands on the side table and leaning the cane against his chair, he ignored Lucius' hand -- he was _not_ anyone's damsel in distress -- and, gripping the arms of his chair, started to lever himself up. Only to fall right back down. He snarled at Lucius, "I'm not going anywhere until you remove this fucking immobilisation spell."

The vertical line between Lucius' eyebrows deepened for a moment, then cleared. He smirked as he retrieved his wand. "Your wish is my command."

"I should be so lucky." Charlie cautiously lifted his left leg, waiting for Lucius to move the hassock before he placed his foot on the ground. Pain flickered along the previously deadened nerves. When he was steady on his feet, balancing most of his weight on his right leg, Charlie clasped Lucius' hand.

Lucius moved closer, slipping his free arm around Charlie's waist. "Your wish is to be _lucky_?"

"Always."

Charlie tilted his head, and Lucius kissed him. Hard and deep; nipping, licking, and sucking. It was the kind of kiss that Charlie could so easily get addicted to, the kind of kiss that always left him wanting more.

With conscious effort, he stopped himself from pressing against the heat and warmth of Lucius' body and drew back. Tightening his grip on Lucius' hand, Charlie smiled and limped towards the bed.

This time nothing would interrupt them.

~fin~


End file.
